How we use social media

During the normal working day we respond to all posts from students and parents struggling to find or fully understand information on our website. Most of the posts come via our Facebook page or @EdexcelStudents mentions on Twitter.

We try to respond to, or at least acknowledge, all of these posts in the same day.

The only exception is that we don’t respond to anything that could be considered offensive. If you’re waiting for a reply to something and it’s been more than one working day, you might want to check the language you used or that the team have received your post – some of our profiles block certain words and phrases.

Outside of working hours, we may still check social media but we often won’t respond until we're back in the office.

monitor social media platforms such as Google+ and other online forums

We may not reply directly to these types of posts, but we monitor them to make sure that any of you with questions are getting the answers you need.

Monitoring activity on social media allows us to continuously improve the service we offer by keeping us up-to-date with what you’re saying about us online. In the past, this has helped us to identify problems with our website, driving improvements to our student pages.

Discussing us or our assessments online

Sharing ideas with others online can be really beneficial when you’re studying or revising. However, there are limits to the amount of information you can share, and you need to be careful not to break the rules. If you’re in doubt about what you can and can’t discuss, it’s always best to check with your teacher.

Sharing too much information with others is an example of ‘malpractice’. Other examples include:

copying someone else’s work or allowing your work to be copied

allowing others to help produce your work or helping others with theirs

being in possession of confidential material in advance of an exam

taking unauthorised items into an exam, such as a mobile phone or extra notes

passing on rumours of exam content

discussing the content of an exam before the paper has been completed in other parts of the world

threatening or harassing staff at an awarding organisation.

We have an obligation to investigate any case where there is the suggestion that you’ve acted improperly. If you are found to have broken the rules, you could face one of the following penalties:

a warning

the loss of marks for a section, component or unit

disqualification from a unit, all units or qualifications

a ban from sitting exams for a set period of time.

We understand that sometimes you are going to talk about us and our assessments with your friends. During stressful periods, some comments may not be very flattering. However, we’d like to ask you to act responsibly when discussing us or your exams and coursework online.

You can find additional guidance agreed by all of the major UK awarding organisations on the JCQ website: